ED Questions Veena Vijayan for Over Nine Hours in CMRL Money Laundering Probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned Veena Vijayan , daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for over nine hours in connection with a money laundering probe linked to her now-defunct IT firm, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd , and its alleged financial dealings with Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) .

Veena appeared before the ED's Kochi office at around 10.30 am and left at approximately 8 pm. She had earlier sought exemption from a June 12 summons citing health reasons. The agency had directed her to appear with documents related to transactions involving Exalogic.

The probe centres on allegations that CMRL paid ₹2.78 crore to Exalogic without receiving any services in return . The ED is also examining claims that Empower India Capital Investments Pvt Ltd (EICPL) , operated by CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, extended loans worth ₹50 lakh to Exalogic despite alleged repayment defaults.

According to the ED, these transactions may have generated "proceeds of crime" under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) . The case was registered on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) before an Ernakulam court in April 2025.

The agency has also questioned members of the Kartha family in recent days as part of the investigation.

CMRL came under scrutiny after an Income Tax Department raid in January 2019 allegedly uncovered financial irregularities, including suspected fictitious expenses amounting to around ₹130 crore .

The ED investigation remains ongoing, and no court has yet ruled on the allegations.